


Bad Ideas

by theearlymorningmist



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alien Technology, Clone Peter, I dont know how to tag, IronDad and SpiderSon, Irondad, Peter is a Little Shit, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, clone, peter encounters alien tech, peter screws up, peter should listen to his AI, peter should listen to tony stark, spiderson, tony stark is a concerned parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-15 08:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theearlymorningmist/pseuds/theearlymorningmist
Summary: Peter encounters a piece of Alien Tech that leads to some too-good-to-be-true results...





	1. Green Means Good...Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes, I haven't really used A03 before. Please bear with me if I didn't do this right. Enjoy! -Ellie  
> (Also I have a tumblr where I did a bunch of Tony X Reader fics, same username as on here.)

Peter was swinging through Queens, hitting all the usual patrol spots before starting to make his way back home. It was still pretty early, but he had promised May that he would be home for dinner tonight.

Just 10 blocks to the apartment, Peter noticed a strange lime-green light coming from an empty apartment complex that was due for demolition next Tuesday. Normally Peter wouldn’t have thought too much about it, and wrote it off as someone just looking for a covered place to stay for the night. Tonight however, Peter’s Spidey-Senses told him this was something more dangerous…

“Karen, can you scan that building over there and let me know if there are any people inside?” The boy asked his AI, perching on a nearby rooftop to get a closer look.

“Certainly Peter. There appears to be some movement on the second floor, I detect just the one presence inside the building.” Karen replied, fast as ever.

Peter lightly drummed his fingers over his web shooters in contemplation. He glanced at the clock on his HUD before standing up. “I’ve got time.” The boy shrugged before shooting a web at the building and easily swinging over. He attached himself to the wall, quietly crawling over to the window where the green glowing was coming from. The glass had already been broken, so Peter was able to see and hear what was going on inside better.

The green light appeared to be coming from a relatively small looking orb thingy, for lack of a better description, which was being held by someone in a thick cloak and hood. They appeared to be typing something into the orb, but Peter couldn’t see any buttons or touch pads. The hooded figure placed the orb thingy down onto an old table, and it switched from glowing green to red.

“Red never seems to mean anything good…” Peter muttered to himself, wondering if it was some sort of bomb.

“Perhaps you should let Mr. Stark know about this.” Karen piped up, a sense of uneasiness in her voice.  “I cannot identify that technology.” She added, explaining the concern.

“It’s just one guy with and one orb-thingy, I can handle it.” Peter dismissed the AI, crawling inside the window silently. The cloaked figure’s back was to him, but Peter could tell they were looking for something underneath the thick fabric, and a moment later they pulled out a small dagger. Peter’s body tensed as he watched the figure hold one hand over the orb and ready the knife with the other.

It took Peter a moment to realize that said hands were dark blue, and that, barring a serious case of frost-bite, this was no human.

“Crap.” Peter said aloud, without thinking. The figure whipped around, letting out an angry snarl when it saw Peter stood by the window. “Uh, hey. Sorry to interrupt your weird ritual, but can I ask what that glowing red thingy is?” He asked, pointing to the orb.

Blue-Guy, as the young superhero had dubbed them, responded by throwing the knife at his head, which Peter dodged easily, but found very rude. Blue-Guy charged at Peter, even more furious than before, allowing Peter to use their own strength against them and send the creature crashing into the wall while side-stepping their attack.

“Peter, I highly suggest contacting Mr. Stark.” Karen’s voice came again.

“Come on Karen, I’ve got everything under control!” Peter argued, as things quickly spiralled out of this control. While the boy took a closer look at the orb, Blue-Guy had recovered and reached into its cloak again, this time pulling out a high-tech looking gun.

The creature fired some kind of electric wave that washed Peter off his feet and sent the kid careening backward and out a window. Thinking quickly, Peter grabbed the window sill to stop himself from going too far, slicing his hand on some glass in the process.

The stubborn kid ignored the pain, pulling himself back up into the room. Once again Blue-Guy was at the orb, knife retrieved and ready to complete whatever this was. “Hey save the cult things for the Scientologists!” Peter shouted lamely, still a bit overwhelmed from the blast. He used his web shooter to pull the orb to himself. Gripping the glowing device tightly in one hand, Peter used the other to shoot another web at the gun.

With a tug, Peter pulled the gun out of Blue-Guy’s hand, holding it close to look at. “Woah, it’s even cooler up close.” The boy admired before swiftly kicking the alien in its stomach. The thing stumbled back a few paces before charging at Peter, dodging another kick, and knocking the gun to the ground as it recklessly tried to grab the orb.

When the gun hit the ground it fired off, sending Peter flying sideways. When the boy got his bearings again, Blue-Guy was nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, Peter walked over to the gun, only to find a pile of blue goo and some empty clothes.

Peter stood frozen for a moment before practically leaping backwards. “Karen…Is that….um…Is that the...” The boy stammered, disgusted.

“It appears the Alien creature melted.” Karen observed.

“Gross Gross. So gross.” Peter muttered. Despite himself, the kid stepped a little closer to get another look. “Kind of cool….But mostly gross!” He shivered.

“I _strongly_ suggest you call Mr. Stark now, Peter. He will know what to do next.”

Peter was about to agree with the AI when his watch beeped, reminding him he had 10 minutes to get back home for dinner with Aunt May. “Shoot! I don’t have time to take this orb thing to the lab and get back in time.” He cursed, taking his bloody hand off the item only to notice that it was back to glowing green again. Peter wiped his blood off the orb, and gave it a closer look. “I mean, green means good right? Maybe it deactivated?”

“This is an unknown piece of alien technology, it is unsafe to assume what it may or may not do. I strongly suggest you call Mr. Stark, he can send a drone to pick it up.” Karen encouraged.

“But is it ganna like… explode or something within the next hour?” Peter asked, in that voice that only stubborn, reckless teenagers can manage.

Karen hesitated, scanning the energy levels and gathering as much information as she could without knowing what the orb was. Finally she slowly replied. “I do not believe so, no.”

“Then I can just swing by the lab after dinner!” Peter announced, heading for the window. He glanced back at the pile of clothes and goo, swallowing heavily. “If I can ever eat again after seeing that.”  He added, before swinging home with the alien tech.

Unknown to Peter, the orb was steadily and silently working away at something, but it wasn’t an explosion…


	2. Accurate Octave Level Achieved.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is surprised to find he is literally talking to himself!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! New Chapter, hope you like it! And remember to smash that dislike button! -Ellie

Peter managed to make it back to the apartment just in time, swinging into his bedroom window with ease. He looked around for a place to hide the orb before shoving it inside one of his desk drawers- it would be safe there on the off chance May came into his room.

            With the potentially dangerous alien device stored away, Peter hurried to get out of his suit and back into some regular clothes- banging into his dresser as he hopped around on one foot, trying to get a sock on the other.

            “Peter? Is that you?” May called from the kitchen, where it sounded like something was boiling over.

            “Yeah it’s me!” Peter replied, heading into the living room to join his aunt.

            “What have I told you about coming back in through the fire escape? You could hurt yourself.” The woman scolded, half-heartedly. She knew the boy would more than likely do it again no matter what she said.

            “Sorry May.” Peter shrugged, sheepishly.

            “Go wash your hands at least. I hope you’re hungry for over-cooked pasta!”

            Peter smiled, clutching his hands to his stomach. “My favourite! You spoil me, May.” The boy teased, earning a gentle smack with a dish towel before he scampered off.

            Peter knew that he should head over to the tower right after dinner and tell Mr. Stark all about his weird encounter, but somewhere between finishing his food and the 2nd episode of his and May’s new favourite guilty-pleasure show, the boy had dosed off on the couch.

            By the time Peter roused, it was close to 10, and May had left for her shift at the hospital- leaving a sticky note attached to the boy’s face to let him know where she went. “Shoot, the orb.” Peter muttered to himself, stretching and heading to his room.

            When he opened the drawer, Peter realized the orb had stopped glowing green everywhere except a small coin sized area on top. The small light flashed slowly, raising Peter’s concern. He could already hear Karen’s robotic voice in his ears warning him to call Tony immediately.

            The boy carefully picked up the alien item, ready to put it into a backpack… but when his skin came into contact with the metal surface, the light stopped and the orb let out a loud beep. The sudden noise startled Peter, causing him to drop the orb onto the ground where a hole promptly opened up out of the metal shell, releasing a greyish-blue blob onto his bedroom floor.

            “Oh gross!” The boy exclaimed, taking a half step back from the rather large gelatinous form that was jiggling in front of him. Peter realized very quickly however that the mass wasn’t just jiggling in place, it was moving and forming into something- growing bigger every second. Soon enough the grey-blue blob was Peter’s height and starting to form arms and legs.

            A face started taking shape and---wait, Peter knew that face. That was his face! This thing had turned into him! Peter stumbled back a few paces, gripping onto the edge of his desk. “You’re me!” He yelped. “And you’re naked!” The boy added, averting his eyes, but also trying to stay alert in case this other-him attacked.

            Naked-Peter stood like a statue exactly where he had formed, not attacking but simply staring at Clothed-Peter with calm, attentive eyes. “Who are you?!” The startled boy asked…himself?

            Naked-Peter paused for a moment, as if in thought. “ _Language: English_.” He stated, before looking at Clothed-Peter again. “ _I am a DNA based emergency replication_.”

            “So like a clone? You’re my clone?” Peter asked, stumbling over his words as his brain tried to process how this happened. Suddenly he remembered all too clearly the cut on his hand, which had already healed, bleeding onto the orb. _Fuuuuuck._

            “ _Yes, that is a suitable definition. I am made from your DNA combined with the organic materials stored inside the generation-orb_.”

            Peter thought very carefully about his next question, slowly slipping his web-shooters on his wrists as he began to speak. “So like…you’re not an evil clone here to kill me are you?” The boy asked, his voice raising an octave.

            “ _I follow the orders of my generative DNA. You_.” Naked-Peter stated, stiff emotionless voice unnerving Clothed-Peter.

            “This would be so cool if I wasn’t freaking out. Mr. Stark is ganna kill me.” Peter sighed, hanging his head, but very quickly lifting it back up when he was reminded why he had been staring upwards intensely. “Woah, okay, if you have to listen to me can you like put on some clothes? I know you’re me technically, but the naked thing is still weird.”

            Clone-Peter seemed to analyze what Peter was wearing momentarily before picking items off the ground and putting together an outfit the boy might have chosen for himself.

            “Okay let’s think about this for a second.” Peter muttered to himself, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “I accidentally made a clone of myself after bleeding on some weird alien tech, and he has to listen to what I say…” The boy rubbed his face in thought. “I could just call Mr. Stark right now and try to explain the situation…Although he’d probably be really mad that I didn’t call him earlier, and he’d freak out about you.” The boy mused, gesturing towards Fake-Peter. “Or…. we could do none of that and instead you stay my little secret for now.”

            Peter wasn’t exactly proud of the idea, but having another him around to help balance the workload between school and friends and Spider-Manning seemed like a blessing from above. The boy stood up, clapping his hands together resolutely. “Ok, it’s decided! Fake-Peter, I’m ganna teach you how to be me.”

            Fake-Peter titled his head, listening for further instruction from the young boy. “You’ve got the look right, but your voice is all wrong.” Just then, Peter’s phone started ringing, and Tony’s ringtone at that. “Shoot, I’ve got to get this.” He glanced at Fake-Peter before answering the phone. “Try to sound more like me.”

            Peter clicked accept on the phone call, holding it up to his ear. “Hey Mr. Stark, what’s up?” He answered, trying to sound normal and not at all like he was hiding a giant Peter-sized secret.

            “Hey Kid, you sound weird, am I interrupting something?” Tony asked.

            “No, nothing at all!” The boy was quick to assure his mentor.

            “Alright. Well I was just wondering if you wanted to swing by the lab tomorrow and work on some adjustments to the suit.”

            “Sounds good!” Peter agreed, about to ask what time, when another voice interrupted him.

            “ _Sounds good_!” Clone-Peter mimicked, perfectly copying Peter’s voice.

            “Heard you first time, Pete.” Tony chuckled. “3pm work?”

            “Yeah that’s great.” The boy answered, trying to mime to Clone-Peter to be quiet.

            “ _Yeah that’s great_.” He repeated.

            “Stop that.”

            “ _Stop that_.”

            “Did you get a pet Parrot or something, kid?” Tony asked, confused.

            Peter clapped his hand over Clone-Peter’s mouth in panic. “No! Ned’s just messing around! Gotta go, bye!” The boy clamored, quickly hanging up the phone. Once the call was safely ended, Peter let out a heavy breath.

            Through the hand, Clone-Peter spoke up. “ _Accurate octave level achieved_.”

            Peter rolled his eyes, flopping backward onto his bed. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us if I’m ganna teach you how to be Peter Parker….”


	3. Be Peter Parker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clone-Peter heads to Midtown High to fill in for a certain Spiderling...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! As ever, please check out my Tumblr (under the same username) for some Imagines and Tony X Reader works.

            Peter sat cross-legged at the head of his bed, stern look on his face. Across from him, Clone-Peter waited tensely, not breaking eye contact with the boy. “Final test: are you ready?” He asked.

            “ _Hit me.”_ Clone-Peter replied, his voice and mannerisms much less serious and more Peter-esque. They had been practicing all night.

            “Gym teacher’s name?”

            _“Coach Wilson.”_

            “May’s favourite food?”

            _“Thai food.”_

            “MJ calls you an idiot, what do you do?”

            _“Blush.”_

Peter blanched, sitting up. “What?! I didn’t say that.”

            Clone-Peter shrugged. “ _No, but it’s what you do when you mention her. You said I have to be as accurate as possible_.” The clone pointed to his face. “ _You look like this when you mention her_.” Slowly a blush appeared on Clone-Peter’s face and his eyes grew large and dopey.

            “I do not!” Peter pouted, crossing his arms. “Whatever, that’s not important right now anyways.” He sighed. “It’s almost time for school. You remember how to get there?”

            “ _Yes_.” Clone-Peter nodded. “ _School ends at 2:30. What should I do after?_ ” He asked, packing the real Peter’s backpack with supplies.

            Peter yawned, exhausted from staying up all night. “Just come back here. May should be back from by the time you get home. Just go to my room, and if she asks you if you want to go out for dinner later, tell her you’ve got homework and can’t. I won’t be back until late because I’m going to meet Tony at the lab and then go patrolling.”

            Clone-Peter tilted his head in confusion. “ _You haven’t taught me much about ‘Tony’ or being ‘Spider-Man’_.” He commented.

            Peter waved dismissively. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll always be the one dealing with Mr. Stark and going out on patrol. I’ve got Spider-Man covered, you just be Peter Parker. That’s your job.”

            “ _Be Peter Parker_.” The Clone repeated.

            Peter nodded, smiling. “You got it!” Just then he snapped his fingers, thinking of something. “My phone!” The boy exclaimed, taking the device out of his pocket and handing it to his companion. “Just in case Mr. Stark tracks it or something.” Clone-Peter took the phone, putting it in the backpack too and then slinging it onto his back.

            “Alright, have a good day at school, Pete!” Peter smiled, patting the other boy’s shoulder. After the clone left, Peter frowned to himself. “That felt weird to say.” He concluded, heading to bed to get a few hours’ sleep before May got home.

………………………

            At Midtown, Clone-Peter sat down in homeroom pulling out his notebook. He didn’t need to write the lesson down to remember it, but he was Peter- and Peter took notes, just like the rest of the students.

            Ned bounced up, taking a seat next to Peter and holding his hand out to do their special handshake. “Morning man! What did you get up to last night? You never texted me back.”

            Clone-Peter completed the handshake perfectly, just as he was taught, slipping into Peter’s persona. _“Hey! Sorry about that! May and I were watching a movie and I totally conked out, aha.”_ He replied, easily.

            Ned gave the boy a look, leaning in and lowering his voice. “I thought you said you were ganna go out Spider-Manning?” He asked, vaguely concerned.

            Spider-Manning…He wasn’t supposed to get involved with Spider-Man things, the Clone thought. But if Spider-Man was a part of being Peter Parker, then it was part of his objective to be Spider-Man too… _“I went on a short patrol before dinner. Probably why I fell asleep so early.”_

            Ned nodded in understanding. “Are you going to go out again tonight, or do you have time to come over and help me finish this new Lego set I got?” The boy asked, any concerns gone.

            _“I’ll probably patrol tonight, yeah.”_ Clone-Peter nodded. Before Ned could reply, the teacher called for the class’s attention, beginning the lesson.

………………………………

            Peter was woken up around 12pm when he heard May get home from work. The boy silently slipped out of bed, and hopped into his closet just in time for May to open the bedroom door to check that her nephew had gotten to school alright. Once she closed the door, Peter let out a sigh of relief, coming back out.

            After getting changed, Peter packed the orb into one of his spare backpacks, and snuck out the window, to the fire-escape. He figured it was safer to just hang out around the city until it was time to meet Tony, as opposed to hiding in the apartment with May around.

            At 2:30 Peter headed over to the Tower, FRIDAY letting him through and leading him to the lab. “Hey Mr. Stark!” The boy called, excited to work on the suit without the added exhaustion from a day of school weighing on him.

            “Hey Pete.” Tony greeted his intern. He glanced at his watch and then threw Peter a suspicious look. “You got here fast. What did you skip last period or something?” his mentor asked.   

            “What? No!” Peter lied. “I just didn’t chat with Ned before leaving today.” He rambled, putting his backpack on a chair and unzipping it so he didn’t have to meet Tony’s eyes.

            “You two must gab like a couple of old ladies.” Tony commented, amused. “So how was patrol last night?”

            Peter pursed his lips. He hated lying to his mentor, but at least he was only half-lying, so the boy rationed that it was a little better. “Ran into something really weird actually. This blue alien dude had this orb thingy, and it was all glowey, but the dude shot himself and _melted_ and now I have the orb thingy and its not glowing anymore.” The boy explained, without taking a breath.

            “Excuse me?” Tony asked, a little in shock. The man’s eyes widened when Peter pulled the orb out and placed it on the table. “Kid what the hell, why didn’t you call me last night?” Tony exclaimed, looking from the tech to Peter and back again. “You weren’t hurt were you?”

            “No, I’m fine I—“

            “Good, then I can yell at you.” Tony interrupted. “This is NOT junior superhero level stuff, Aliens definitely warrant giving an ADULT a phone call! Were there any more of them? And what do you mean it _melted?_ ”

            Peter crossed his arms petulantly. “I had it handled! There was just the one guy.” The boy argued back. “He had like this sonic gun thing, but he dropped it and it fired at us. I got knocked into a wall, he melted, and the thing snapped in two.”

            Tony hung his head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as he held his wrist tightly, to stop his hand from shaking with anxiety. “Teenagers.” He muttered. After composing himself, Tony picked up the orb and put it inside a case. “Fri, you know what to do. Thorough scan.”

            Peter swallowed hard. “Karen couldn’t identify it, so I don’t think it’ll work.” He commented.

            Tony sat back down at the bench, taking a sip of his long cold coffee. “Sorry to say, but FRIDAY has a bit more of an advanced system than Karen does, kid.” He pointed to Peter’s backpack where one of the arms of the suit was hanging out. “Until that’s done let’s just focus on upgrading your suit. Who knows, maybe I’ll have to update the tattle-tale settings since you’re so insistent doing stupid things like handling Aliens alone…”

            Peter tensed, handing over the suit. “Aw come on Mr. Stark! If it was actually a danger I would have called you, or Karen would have!” He argued.

            “Fine fine…” Tony conceded. “Hand me your phone, I’m ganna update the communications link.” The man asked, holding out his hand for the device.

            Peter went to reach into his pocket, but he froze when he remembered he had given his phone to Clone-Peter. “I…uh…lost it.” The boy lied.

            Tony gave his intern a confused look. “What do you mean you lost it? You just texted me an hour ago?”

            “I did? I mean- yes! I did!” The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I lost it um…coming over here.” Peter gave his mentor a nervous smile, wondering in the back of his mind why Clone-Peter had texted Tony when he had explicitly told him not to.

            “Do I even need to go for the obvious ‘you’d lose your head’ comment?” Tony sighed, opening a drawer and handing the boy a new Stark-Phone. “Don’t argue, just take it, and you can thank me by using it to _call me_ when you encounter dangerous shit. Deal?”

            Peter smiled. “Deal.”

            The older man smiled back, giving the boy’s hair a quick ruffle before turning back to the suit. “Now…how do you feel about ordering some Pizza?” He asked, to which Peter nodded enthusiastically in response.

            While his mentor told the AI what to order, Peter glanced back at the orb which was bathed in a blue sensors, searching its every inch for answers. The boy felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Sure it was fun having someone to fill in for you during all the things you didn’t want to do…but Peter was starting to wonder if this whole thing had been a bad idea. He glanced at his mentor once more, frowning slightly. If he came clean now, Mr. Stark would be furious, but at least nothing would have gotten out of hand…

           The boy opened his mouth, ready to speak up about what really happened, when he remembered why he was hiding a clone in the first place. Between school and the internship, as well as being Spider-Man, _and_ spending time with May and Ned, he was exhausted. There just wasn’t enough hours in the day. All this in mind, Peter slowly closed his mouth again and thought to himself:

_The eggs are already broken…What could a few more days hurt?_


End file.
